Prachanda: 'We are not fighting for socialism. We are just fighting against feudalism'

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Members of Prachanda's Maoist militia guard
the prime minister’s
residence during talks

By Thomas Bell in Kathmandu

12:01AM GMT 31 Oct 2006

The commander of the most successful modern-day Communist insurgency, in Nepal, has turned his back on the legacy of Mao Tse-tung, claiming that he will embrace multi-party democracy to bring peace to the country after a decade of bloodshed.

Prachanda, the rebel leader who took inspiration from revolutionary China to prosecute his "people's war", indicated that he was even prepared to accept a transitional period in which Nepal's monarchy would be preserved.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Prachanda, whose nom de guerre means "the fierce one", said his Maoist rebels had learnt the lessons of past revolutionary movements and recognised that the way to achieve a "vibrant and dynamic society" was by permitting healthy competition among political parties.

Speaking as a new round of negotiations with the government opened, he explained how he hoped ultimately to trade lasting peace for an end to the country's 238-year-old monarchy.

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Prachanda, 52, whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, said: "We have taken so many lessons from the revolutions and counter revolutions of the 20th century.

"Even under the dictatorship of the proletariat, multi-party competition is necessary to have a vibrant and dynamic society."

He blamed the monarchy for Nepal's status as one of Asia's poorest countries, with a per capita annual income of around £140.

"We are not fighting for socialism," he said, claiming that his party had drifted to the centre.

"We are just fighting against feudalism. We are fighting for a capitalistic mode of production. We are trying to give more profit to the capitalists and industrialists."

The Daily Telegraph met Prachanda after a taxi ride to a discreet Kathmandu hotel, accompanied by Maoists.

Along the route, the guide signalled our progress to plain-clothed spotters standing amid the crowds on the bustling pavements.

Prachanda, a former school teacher and erstwhile employee of the American development agency USAID, believes that he is just a step away from joining mainstream politics, and was at pains to present a moderate image.

"If [the prime minister Girija Koirala] can go for a republican state then we can easily lock up 100 per cent of our arms right now," he said.

"But if you want to compromise with the feudal monarchy then it will not be beneficial for the democratic expression of the people to lock up all our arms right now."

Prachanda's rebel campaign has cost more than 13,000 lives and transformed Nepal from a sleepy backwater into what many analysts fear could become a failed state.

But in April, the Maoists and democratic opposition parties jointly organised protests against the autocratic government led by King Gyanendra. Hundreds of thousands of people joined the movement which forced the king from power. He appointed a prime minister and took on merely ceremonial duties.

Democrats then formed a coalition government committed to making peace with the Maoists.

They pledged to hold elections for an assembly that would rewrite the constitution, a long standing rebel demand.

Since then, the prime minister has consistently supported a ceremonial role for the king, but Prachanda spoke optimistically of a "breakthrough" within the next week.

He believes that a compromise is possible, with the rebels submitting to phased "arms management" under United Nations supervision. In return, he insists, all the king's property must be nationalised.

Under the proposed deal, the fate of the monarchy would then be decided by the first meeting of the constitutional assembly to be elected next year.

Despite the modernising rhetoric, Prachanda was unrepentant about the deaths that his unfinished revolution has caused. He described meeting with the relatives of young policemen and soldiers his party had killed.

He said he had told them: "We are sorry, but this is a political process."

Prachanda added: "We are not happy that so many people have died but historical necessity is a very strong thing, you know."

Critics claim that human rights abuses by the Maoists continue, especially in connection with their "people's courts" justice system, but he dismissed the allegations as "minor mistakes" and "propaganda". Two weeks ago, industrialists called a general strike in protest at Maoist "extortion". Prachanda describes the payments as "voluntary donations".

But, despite the high stakes and continuing acrimony, Prachanda appears relaxed. Even during the hectic peace negotiations process, he said, he liked to watch films in the evenings.

Some European "comrades" recently sent him DVDs of the slavery movies Sparticus and Amistad.